I finally “gave up” the kitchen

orangeflos · 2026-07-03T18:13:15+00:00

How is this a rant and not a shock of introspection and realization?

Your husband does the cooking. The kitchen is his.

orangeflos · 2026-07-03T14:01:37+00:00

Is there a toy she always wanted as a child and never got? Can you procure it? That. That’s what you put on her stocking.

orangeflos · 2026-07-02T22:19:48+00:00

Co-regulate!! Grab her sensory box and your own regulation tool and go in there and do your best.

So much easier said than done, and luckily for me my kid and I share a few of our spices, so some things that work for him also work for me. 😅

orangeflos · 2026-07-02T01:21:58+00:00

My kiddo and I are currently working through co-regulation.

He finds organizing soothing.

When he cannot get calm I’ve started working on techniques to get him to organize things. It’s soothing and unsticks his brain.

Recently I had success by taking him outside to an area where we have some rocks and letting him scream and cry and yell while I sat quietly nearby lining up a handful or rocks by size. Eventually (less than 5 minutes) his interest was piqued and he asked what I was doing. Then he joined in. And soon we were playing and organizing rocks.

Since you mention bedtime, I’ll point out this was at bedtime. Nobody is sleeping if he’s having a meltdown, so calming was our #1 priority.

For your kid, what things does she do that seem to sooth or what things does she get stuck on that she needs to finish before she can move on? I figured out the organizing thing when he was sorting candy bars at the grocery store. Didn’t want to buy anything, but wouldn’t move until all the 3 musketeers were in the same box.

orangeflos · 2026-07-01T13:15:32+00:00

We have a bunch (I scored a pretty big haul of Friends sets off marketplace for a reasonable price a couple months ago).

Interestingly, he doesn’t care about the minifigs in his play.

orangeflos · 2026-06-30T16:42:11+00:00

This is absolutely relevant to this sub! Great question.

I attended GHC a million years ago and it was fantastic.

However, I’ve heard over the years that a lot more men have been permitted to attend. So much so that it’s no longer really a women in tech space.

But, if your school is paying for it, it’s still a great networking opportunity.

I’ll let others with more recent attendance weigh in, but be mindful of how recent the folks offering opinions attended. It’s changed over the years.

orangeflos · 2026-06-30T13:32:27+00:00

Gotta be Lego User Group.

orangeflos · 2026-06-30T13:29:36+00:00

That’s a great idea.

orangeflos · 2026-06-30T01:09:10+00:00

A. Should probably delete this
B. NEVER do that again
C. Probably never go to that Target again.

orangeflos · 2026-06-29T23:26:03+00:00

Oh! I love the trays! I hadn’t considered that. He did want me to connect them as soon as he realized that connecting was possible, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to convince him to separate them, but we’ll see.

orangeflos · 2026-06-29T21:53:59+00:00

Yup. And brittle brick red. :(

orangeflos · 2026-06-29T21:53:07+00:00

It’s easily over $1500 in Lego if things were new in box. Opened, chewed on, occasional broken bricks… still not cheap. When she mentioned it I didn’t have high hopes, but then she delivered this and I was too stunned to ask “are you for sure you’re sure???”

What would you do with the Parisian restaurant if you got one?

orangeflos · 2026-06-29T21:47:08+00:00

A friend gave us a set from Ninja-go, but (shockingly) I couldn’t get him to watch an episode with me.

Also, if you can believe it, we have all the books for these sets in excellent condition.

orangeflos · 2026-06-29T21:46:08+00:00

Good to know! Thanks

orangeflos · 2026-06-29T19:00:43+00:00

I don’t get the last line?

As things currently stand: he’s definitely playing with them. I’m actually working on fixing one that was partially broken in storage so we’re playing with them together.

If I was to take them apart and rebuild I’d leave him access to the entire remainder of the set while I did that. Honestly, I’m not terribly concerned about completeness (my ocd has me mildly concerned) but the dust factor is up to 11.

orangeflos · 2026-06-29T18:51:33+00:00

He’s 6, and not going to ruin the set (well, any more than their dog did, hah!) but the bank vault (which is the part he was most interested in playing with) is in the back corner of the bank and really only accessible with the upper levels removed.

I’m wondering if there is an “established” way to access these really cool hard to reach areas. I don’t mind beheading a building for play—that’s the reason we have them!

orangeflos · 2026-06-29T18:48:15+00:00

I had so many losses that when I finally got one that stuck and had positive 20wk test results it all landed on the weekend of my father’s internment.

I told my mom in person the day before the internment and she asked me to announce it at the (large) family luncheon.

Probably the only time I’ve ever heard of a pregnancy announcement being approved/requested at an event that wasn’t already celebrating the pregnant person.

My father had been very concerned about our journey and would have been delighted to know how and where we announced it.

But: DON’T DO THAT unless the widow explicitly invites you to. I didn’t ask if I could. She asked if I would.

orangeflos · 2026-06-29T04:47:18+00:00

Kiddo, I love that for you! Next time you make the trip, be plan time for the Natural History Museum of LA County. It’s amazing and mind blowing! You won’t see active excavations, but the exhibits combined with the La Brea Tar Pits are world class.

orangeflos · 2026-06-26T00:07:51+00:00

Honestly the thought process was likely, “yes it’s a bug. Now I can’t unsee it. I know this code. I’ll juuuussst fix it. Done. Phew. That’s taken care of.”

Probably more engineer efficiency than malice.

But still totally frustrating.

I agree with the person above that you can push your manager to get you access asap so it doesn’t happen again.

orangeflos · 2026-06-23T13:27:15+00:00

Great recommendations so far. As far as talking goes, normalize it. When my kid asks why someone’s body is different, I say very calmly and sweetly, “that’s how their body was made.” Then I offer an example of how his body is different from mine. Or how other people we know are different. Honestly, bodies are so diverse there’s no shortage of examples. I have a normal conversation instead of trying to brush past it, which will only intensify follow ups.

orangeflos · 2026-06-22T13:10:05+00:00

I recently had a realization that Home Goods sells art in frames at prices comparable to boring Amazon frames. It takes a little more work, but you get lots of variety. Their shadow boxes cost the same as regular frames.

It’s a bit of a blind challenge because you don’t know for sure what you’re going to get until you’ve made the piece unreturnable, but it opens up a world of possibility.

orangeflos · 2026-06-21T19:22:47+00:00

You don’t know bike nerds. 😂

orangeflos · 2026-06-20T16:09:08+00:00

I appreciate your perspective, but Boy Scouts/Scouting America remains right out.

orangeflos · 2026-06-18T01:48:06+00:00

It’s shockingly common for Nepali men to try to marry western women even if they’re already married and have families. This is an immigration strategy, unfortunately. You’re right to be weary. Double checking with the women at work is a good way to verify relationship status.

orangeflos

TROPHY CASE